Six in The Morning

China dissident Chen 'can apply to study abroad'

　China says prominent dissident Chen Guangcheng can apply to study abroad, potentially indicating a way out of the diplomatic crisis with the US over him.

The BBC 4 May 2012
A foreign ministry statement said Mr Chen could "apply through normal channels in accordance with the law". The blind dissident fled house arrest last month and spent six days inside the US embassy. He left but now says he wants to go to the US with his family. His case has overshadowed high-level US-China talks taking place in Beijing. "If he wishes to study overseas, as a Chinese citizen, he can, like any other Chinese citizens, process relevant procedures with relevant departments through normal channels in accordance to the law," Xinhua news agency quoted spokesman Liu Weimin as saying.

Olympic advert fuels Falklands row


Tom Lawrence Friday 04 May 2012
The Government has accused Argentina of being insensitive and disrespectful after it broadcast a television advert showing an Olympic hopeful training on a British war memorial in the Falklands. In a highly-provocative move that ties the ongoing dispute over the islands with this summer's Games, the 90-second advert produced by the country's presidency says the athlete is preparing for London 2012 on "Argentine soil".

Saakashvili opponents seek fresh start for Georgia
The Irish Times - Friday, May 4, 2012

DANIEL McLAUGHLIN
ONE RECENT Sunday on Tbilisi’s central Rustaveli Avenue, a few dozen people gathered outside Georgia’s parliament to protest against a new law. They said it would allow landowners to do anything on their property – such as uncontrolled logging, or even the burial of nuclear waste – without any government oversight, and they accused President Mikheil Saakashvili of placing the interests of big business over environmental concerns. As the protest melted into the weekend crowd on Rustaveli, a few stayed behind, folding up their banners while laying out deeper concerns about Georgia under Saakashvili – the west’s chief ally and poster boy for democracy and the free market in the strategic and volatile South Caucasus.

Dodgy origins cloud Mswati's 'birthday' jet


AMABHUNGANE REPORTERS JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA
The luxury jet given to Swazi King Mswati III as a "birthday present" last week appears to have been subjected to "aircraft laundering" to conceal its origins, an amaBhungane investigation indicates. The investigation also strongly suggests that the price of the refitted aircraft is likely to have been much higher than the maximum $2-million estimated by experts last week. One knowledgeable plane-spotter believed it could have cost up to $20-million (R157-million).

US-Afghan pact won't end war - or night raids
South Asia

By Gareth Porter
WASHINGTON - The optics surrounding the Barack Obama administration's "Enduring Strategic Partnership" agreement with Afghanistan and the memorandums of understanding (MoUs) accompanying it emphasize transition to Afghan responsibility and an end to US war. But the only substantive agreement reached between the US and Afghanistan - well hidden in the agreements - has been to allow powerful US Special Operations Forces (SOF) to continue to carry out the unilateral night raids on private homes that are universally hated in the Pashtun zones of Afghanistan.

Missiles on my roof? Londoners push back on Olympics security
The defense ministry has begun putting anti-aircraft missiles on rooftops in a few parts of London ahead of the 2012 Olympic Games.

By Ian Evans, Correspondent
With just 85 days to go until the London Olympics, Britain’s military and security apparatus has begun testing its readiness to deal with potential terrorist attacks. The nine-day Exercise Olympic Guardian security test involves coordinated air, land, and sea operations and helicopters, warships, troops, and four Typhoon fighter aircraft based at RAF Northolt in west London. The show of force is designed to test the responsiveness of antiterror plans developed by the Metropolitan Police, which will have 12,500 officers on the ground for the Games, backed up by 13,500 military personnel.